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Article: For 40% of light-rail riders, transit stops with the train; Transit officials say that the original Hiawatha light-rail ridership estimates were low and they are revising their forecasting methods.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- November 14, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Laurie Blake; Staff Writer
When his carpool collapses for a day, John Healy has no qualms about riding light rail to work in downtown Minneapolis.
"It seems a little more predictable and regular than the bus," he said. " There is always another one coming."
Healy, of south Minneapolis, is a new breed of transit rider - willing to take trains, but rarely, if ever, climbing aboard a bus.
A 2004 survey found that 40 percent of Hiawatha's riders are like Healy - not bus riders before train service began.
This preference for rail largely explains why the Hiawatha ridership is exceeding projections. Preconstruction ...